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Colonies
The nations of Estril and Astair, two of the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful nations of the Old World, established ten colonies on Corunda before the Disjunction. Colonial Estril The six colonies founded by the United Kingdom of Estril are Northwall, New Harbor, Hirron, Aveline, Verdane, and St. Barbok. = Northwall The youngest and smallest of Estril's colonies, Northwall was founded just five years prior to the Disjunction and is the northernmost Old World settlement on the continent. Founded to take advantage of the high demand of local furs, many Northwallians are hunters and trappers, though the rich iron and coal veins in the region have attracted a sizeable population of miners, particularly dwarven ones. New Harbor New Harbor is the largest and wealthiest settlement on Corunda, and the de facto center of political power among the Estrilian colonies. A combination of its deep harbor, ready timber, and political connections made the town the hub of trade to and from the Old World, and even with that connection severed, New Harbor remains prosperous and influential. With its wide streets and sprawling buildings, New Harbor has spread to fill nearly the entire peninsula it rests on, and increasingly relies on foodstuffs imported from the small farming communities that have sprouted up around it. Protecting these villages has begun to put a strain on the city's economy, however, and led to deep resentment between the very rich and everyone else as to who should foot the bill. Hirron Hirron is the oldest of Estril's colonies on Corunda, founded as a religious colony by followers of the One Faith who felt persecuted by Estril's political elite. Though not wealthy or particularly prosperous, the people of Hirron are largely self-sufficient and pride themselves on their independence. Despite their common origins, and the urging of leaders among the colonies, Hirronites consider themselves largely separate from the other settlements and care little for the politics and struggles among them. Hirron is home to the Temple of the One, the only structure in Corunda built of stone imported from the Old World. Aveline In many ways, Aveline is the diametric opposite of Hirron. The colony was founded mostly by refugees from other Old World nations who banded together to acquire a charter from the crown. As a result, Aveline's streets and people are a colorful mishmash of cultures and languages rarely seen elsewhere in Corunda. Small temples and shrines to various religions, now largely vanished with the Disjunction, can be found on every street in the city, and members of the community typically share an uncommonly relaxed and open-minded view of differing beliefs and rituals. Many of the most revolutionary thinkers in the colonies hail from or have spent time in Aveline, and Avelinians are often the loudest voices calling for a new, democratic nation independent of Estril. Verdane Corunda is home to many crops never seen in the Old World, or ill-suited for the climate there. Verdane, and the dozens of small farming towns that satellite out from it, is the single largest grower and distributer of most of them. Blessed with incredibly rich soil and a temperate climate, Verdane is the undisputed king of agriculture--cotton, tobacco, sugarcane, coffee, you name it, it grows there. This has led to the area being dominated by massive plantations, slowly buying up or driving out independent farmers in order to secure more land for themselves. The wealthy of Verdane typically make use of indentured servitude to provide their labor, and less scrupulous owners often manipulate the system to prevent their servants from ever actually being able to pay off their debt. Despite the unpopularity of this practice among the northern colonies, Verdane's massive economic strength makes them too valuable an ally to shame or shun. St. Barbox Though officially an Estrilian colony, St. Barbox's close relationship with the Astairian colonies to the south has long blurred the line of ownership. St. Barbox acts as a major trading hub for the Astairians, providing a market for products from both New Harbor and Zeuvando. Many of its citizens are fluent in both languages and celebrate music and festivals particular to both cultures. Unfortunately, St. Barbox has a dark side--pirates often use the city as a resupply and recruitment point, and there is a thriving underground trade in smuggled narcotics, stolen goods, and--allegedly--human trafficking. Public officials tend to be cheerfully affable to bribery, and more than a few of the town watch have sailed under a black flag themselves. The Celine Islands The four colonies founded by the Republic of Astair are Cresalares, Zeuvando, Otrosa, and Hego. Cresalares Cresalares began its existence as a military outpost and naval port, and its character has changed little in the seventy-five years since its founding. The famed pirate hunters of the Golden Hawks make their base here, returning from their patrols to repair and resupply. The fortress stands on the edge of a cliff, two long sets of stone stairs leading down to the harbor, and the city sprawls out behind it into fertile, if hilly, farmland. Though ostensibly the capital of the Astairian colonies, Cresalares has been eclipsed by Zeuvando to the south. Zeuvando The oldest Astairian colony in Corunda, Zeuvando never really flourished until just a few years before the Disjunction, when vast deposits of silver were found in the hills on the island's eastern edge. Within months, merchants, miners, and prospectors flooded into the settlement and the surrounding islands, hoping to find their fortune. Many did, but then found themselves unable to return home with their wealth. Now the city, and the island it stands on, boasts dozens of splendid palaces and opulent gardens, and any power player of note in the Astairian colonies boasts at least one manor there. Otrosa Otrosa is the only major Astairian colony on the mainland, situated on a small river dividing the great desert to the north and the rolling hills and dense jungles to the south. It was originally intended as a launching point for explorers and conquistadores setting out to map and tame the wild continent. Years of attacks by hostile creatures, however, have left the town a grim place of dour, serious people. Few, if any, residents of Otrosa are not capable of defending themselves with spear or crossbow, and the professional soldiers that man the sandstone walls are among the most experienced fighters in Corunda. Hego There is a reason that a wise Astairian master is encouraged to treat his slaves fairly and with compassion: slaves tend to outnumber their masters, and cruelty makes it more likely for them to realize that. This was the case with Hego, a sweltering, tropical island known for its plaintains, oranges, and sugarcane. The Astairians who first settled there found the climate deeply unpleasant and, given the prevalence of disease-carrying insects, often fatal. Unable to leave due to Senate decree, they took their frustrations out on the legions of slaves they brought with them to work the land. This led to the largest slave uprising in Astairian history, as the mistreated workers took up arms, butchered their former masters, and claimed the island for their own. Possibly with the help of Estrilian merchants seeking to exploit the chaos, the former slaves managed to thwart three separate Astarian invasions to reconquer the island, and were braced and ready for a fourth when the Disjunction occured. Since, the other Astarian colonies have--despite pressure from the wealthy elite of Zeuvando and Cresalares--quietly decided to let Hego be, and have even opened up minor diplomatic channels to the colony as the years have passed.